Champions League Winners Odds

The Champions League returns in just under two weeks, with the first ties of the round-of-16 stage commencing on the 14th and 15th of February.

There are going to be some fantastic games of football taking place, which is exactly what we have come to expect from Europe’s premier competition. The standout ties involve clubs from four of Europe’s biggest and best leagues, firstly with a rematch of last season’s final when Real Madrid face Liverpool, while juggernauts Bayern Munich and PSG take on each other in what is a mouth-watering clash between two of the continent’s best club sides.

Even the so-called lesser ties will provide excellent viewing, with an exciting and ruthless Napoli side taking on Frankfurt, and Borussia Dortmund taking on a Chelsea side who have made wholesale changes to their club by spending big in recent transfer windows.

Here, we take a quick look at the teams that are most likely to lift the famous Champions League trophy in Istanbul come the 10th June…

Manchester City made it all the way to the semi-finals of last year’s competition, and at one point looked absolutely nailed on to be making it through to what would have been their second appearance in the final of the competition.

Pep Guardiola’s side ultimately failed to do so, throwing it all away in the second leg of their tie with Real Madrid when substitute Rodrygo scored two goals within a minute at the death to drag Los Blancos back from the jaws of defeat. Having suffered a 4-3 defeat in the first leg and going another goal behind in the tie after Riyad Mahrez’s 73rd-minute goal, Rodrygo’s brace restored parity and made it 5-5 on aggregate, leaving Man City shellshocked. They never recovered. Karim Benzema’s extra-time penalty gave Madrid the lead, and they held on to make another final and ensure yet another embarrassing night in Europe for the Citizens.

Manchester City have come close to winning this competition in the past, but they have also suffered from some embarrassing exits as well. The Citizens have an inconsistent record in this competition – despite the sheer spending power they have and the strength of their squad, they never seem to have enough to win the competition as has been expected of Pep Guardiola.

But they have a different weapon in their arsenal this season – the lethal Erling Haaland. The Norwegian has an astonishing 31 goals in all competitions so far, and keep in mind that it is only February. City will play RB Leipzig in the round-of-16, and will almost certainly overcome the German side. But the age-old question still remains – can they actually ever go all the way and win the entire thing? Haaland could prove the difference-maker.

Another of the usual suspects who will always make a run deep into the competition, it would be the seventh Champions League crown for the Bavarians were they to win this season.

Kingsley Coman’s goal on the hour-mark propelled Bayern to their sixth win in this tournament two years ago, and they will be raring to go once again upon the resumption of the competition.

Bayern Munich are always a threat to whomever they face, without a doubt, but opponents will be facing a weaker Bayern side than usual. They are top of the Bundesliga by just a point right now, as opposed to the usual double-digit points cushion that they would usually have at this point of the season.

Julian Nagelsmann’s side will face a very tough test against a star-studded PSG side in their round-of-16 clash, with the Parisians gunning for revenge after their defeat in the 2020 final to the German side. And their performances in the Champions League last season were poor, ultimately resulting in them being knocked out by surprise package Villarreal. Unai Emery coached the Yellow Submarine to a 2-1 aggregate win over the two legs of the quarter-final tie, with strikes from Arnaut Danjuma and Samuel Chukwueze cementing their names in club folklore.

The failure to bring in a proper replacement for marksman Robert Lewandowski has arguably contributed to Bayern’s poorer performances this season, with the goalscoring burden now having to be shared by a larger group of players rather than just the reliable Pole.

However, the likes of Leroy Sane, Serge Gnabry, Jamal Musiala and Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting have all stepped up, with double-digit goal tallies from that quartet. It should not be forgotten that Bayern still have players who can score goals and cause serious problems for the opposition, and they cannot be fully written off as potential winners this season despite their woes.

Despite the heavy financial backing provided by owners QSI since their takeover in 2012, French side PSG have failed to win the one trophy that their owners have desired – the Champions League.

Embarrassing defeats in the knockout stages have been occurring for years and years, with four round-of-16 exits since 2016/17, including the humiliating 6-1 defeat to Barcelona after leading 4-0 in the first leg in 2017, exiting at the hands of Manchester United after a last-minute penalty in 2019, and conceding a second-half 17-minute hat-trick at the hands of Karim Benzema after leading 2-0.

PSG did finally break their hoodoo when they made it all the way to the final in 2020, but it was not to be as they lost 1-0 in their first-ever final appearance in the competition. But the show goes on, and PSG will never stop trying. The presence of Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, Lionel Messi is surely the key for any success in the competition.

Fresh off his World Cup success, Messi has the potential to make this the greatest season of his long and storied career. A World Cup win followed by leading his side to their first-ever Champions League triumph would be one of, if not the greatest season of the Argentine’s career, and he will know so, providing additional motivation to do so.

One of the most anticipated round-of-16 ties this season sees a rematch of last year’s final, with six-time winners Liverpool looking to take revenge on the Real Madrid side who beat them to the top prize last season.

Los Blancos have been a painful thorn in Liverpool’s side over the past five years, also beating the Reds in the 2018 final, which provides more than enough reason for the Reds to step up and pull out a huge performance despite the difficulties that they have been going through this season.

Poor performances across the board by Jurgen Klopp’s men have meant that Liverpool are way off the pace domestically, currently sitting in 9th place. However, this is a knockout tournament. Anything can happen over the course of two legs, and that will be of reassurance to Liverpool.

Liverpool are the most successful English team in the history of this competition, and despite their problems this season, the Reds certainly know how to win in this competition when the odds are stacked against them. Reaching three Champions League finals in five years is a feat that not many could ever achieve, and with the chaotic nature of the Champions League knockout stages, Liverpool could emerge as surprise winners.

After their success in Paris last year at the expense of Liverpool, Real Madrid will once again be looking to add to their storied history in this competition.

Vinicius Junior’s goal on the hour-mark last May handed Los Blancos their 14th win in this competition, and the demanding nature of the Real Madrid fanbase dictates that their club will once again be going all-out this year for yet another piece of silverware to add to their trophy cabinet.

Spanish football’s most successful club side have not been the greatest domestically, winning just three of the last ten La Liga titles on offer. But they have always shined in this competition, making the final 17 times and winning 14 of those finals.

Real are also the only team to have won the competition three times in a row – twice! Winning in the Champions League is simply embedded in Real Madrid’s DNA, and that is why they should never, ever be written off despite their domestic failings in comparison to their rivals.

Expect a run to at least the semi-finals from Carlo Ancelotti’s men, but it would not surprise anyone were they to reach yet another final.

Surprise package winners do occasionally pop up in the Champions League, and could we see another one this year in the form of Italian side Napoli?

The Partenopei have been having an outstanding season under Luciano Spalletti so far, currently sat at the top of Serie A with a 13-point cushion over second-place Inter Milan.

Napoli have been absolutely relentless, scoring 48 league goals so far and losing just one game domestically, and they show no signs of stopping. They look well on their way to winning their first league title since 1990.

This sublime form has carried over into the Champions League as they finished top of their group with just one loss, and their impressive goalscoring form continued with 20 goals across their six group-stage matches.

Spaletti’s men have been rewarded with a tie against German outfit Eintracht Frankfurt, and look well-placed to succeed against the Germans and make it through to what would be their first-ever Champions League quarter-finals appearance.

The key to that will be the men in their frontline, with striker Victor Osimhen and breakout star winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia scoring 24 goals between them so far this season. Napoli will need them on top form going into the second half of the season.

Chelsea are a club in transition at this current point in time, with the recent appointment of Graham Potter as manager and a serious overhaul of their squad being carried out. That was characterised by their outlay of over £300m on new signings in January, and it will surely take some time for those new signings to bed in at their new club under a new manager.

On paper, Chelsea do look quite unlikely to win the Champions League simply due to the seemingly chaotic and unorganised nature of the club right now, with Graham Potter so far failing to get a tune out of his squad. That has been further complicated by the arrival of those new signings, whom Potter will now need to find a way to somehow find a place for them in his starting XI.

However, do keep in mind that this is knockout football and anything can happen. Chelsea have caused some major upsets in the Champions League before - they emerged as surprise winners of the entire competition in both 2012 and 2021, and they had a strong run to the quarter-finals last season, putting up a good fight against Real Madrid as they were knocked out in extra-time 5-4 on aggregate.

Chelsea’s squad is full to the brim with talented players who can cause problems for any side they come up against, but the question is can Potter do enough to get his men performing like they have previously in this competition?

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